By Gregory A. Weiss
Thanks primarily to the good work of Jim Munson, a dinner for the 21 guys who played on the varsity football team throughout our four years and their guests was held at Ray Tompkins House in the evening after the Harvard football game. Not everyone was able to make it, but more than 35 were in attendance. It was the first time we had ever gotten together as a group, and it was great fun. This was the weekend when the university was officially celebrating the opening of the renovated Yale Bowl (which looks terrific), and our 21 were among those being honored for having collectively contributed $250,000 to pay for the renovation of one of the 30 portals. Jim reported: “It was a great weekend with the exception of the game itself, but we more than made up for it at the dinner with lots of laughs, food and drink, and excellent stories about coaches John Pont and Carm Cozza, trainer Dan Kazman, and each other. Carm generously stopped by and thanked us for being his first team, on which he said he made the most mistakes and from which he learned more than from any other team. Tom Beckett, director of athletics, also spoke, graciously thanking us for our loyalty and support of the Bowl renovation. We listened to ’50s and ’60s rock and roll and watched videos of the games we won plus the Dartmouth game. A very good time was had by all, and we all appreciate the loyalty to our team and our school.”
In the course of planning the dinner, we were able to catch up with a couple of our teammates who couldn’t make it. One was Paul Kiernan, who is a doctor in Washington, DC: “I think of you all, often and fondly, but have been too busy to get back much. I’ve probably only returned for two or three games, as well to show my oldest around, back in 2000, when he was looking at colleges. He ultimately went west, attending Pomona College. Our youngest boy is now attending Colorado College, playing rugby in the fall and lacrosse in the spring. I applaud his choice, as getting ready for ski season seems much better than enduring winter in Wright Hall. Our middle, Caroline, is now teaching at Greenwich Country Day School. So, maybe I shall get back to New Haven again.”
Marty Senzel and Howell Ferguson recently returned from an adventurous AYA trip led by Gus Speth, dean of FES and Marty’s Law School classmate, to the Pantanal region of Brazil and Iguassu Falls. They had a great time, even though outnumbered by Speth’s ’64 classmates. Marty has been retired for several years from Cravath, Swaine & Moore and certainly seems to be enjoying it. Finally, we have a report that Dr. John West has retired to Nantucket, where, we are told, one of his full-time avocations is to sweep the beaches at dawn every morning for the public works department—which, we are also told, is actually a very sought-after position.